Professional athletes are required to give up the guilty pleasures most normal people enjoy every season, but none really compare to the kind of sacrifices LeBron James makes when it comes to his diet. It goes to the extent that Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark admitted she wouldn’t even go to such lengths to keep in shape.
On a recent episode of Mind the Game, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar revealed a surprisingly personal detail about how far he is willing to go to maintain peak condition.
While rehabbing and preparing for another NBA campaign, James voluntarily eliminated two of his favorite indulgences for nearly two months: wine and chocolate chip cookies.
For an athlete widely regarded as one of the most disciplined in modern sports, the decision still raised eyebrows.
How the NBA learned about LeBron’s cookie craze
In the first 14 games of 2025, James was sidelined while dealing with sciatica. Rather than simply focus on treatment and recovery, he opted to add a layer of nutritional discipline.
“I wasn’t playing obviously as the season started,” he revealed on the show. “So I needed to give up something. I gotta sacrifice something.
“And I actually did two things that I very love. And that is drinking wine and my chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I completely took it out.”
For many athletes, cutting out dessert and alcohol temporarily might seem routine. Yet, chocolate chip cookies have long been part of LeBron‘s personal routine, to the extent that the entire NBA are aware.
During his tenure with the Miami Heat, cookies became such a staple that former teammate Dwyane Wade once publicly joked about their importance.
According to Wade, when team president Pat Riley tightened the franchise’s nutrition policies, it included restrictions on LeBron‘s in-flight cookie habit.
“One thing you don’t do is f**k with LeBron’s cookies… No, no, no, this is serious. He loves chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chip cookies and ice cream, he loves.
“LeBron walks on the plane with a bag of food. One bag is all cookies, and the other bags are what his chef has prepared for him to eat,” Wade said in 2025 on Lou Williams’ The Underground Lounge podcast.
The true meaning of cookies for Caitlin Clark
So when ESPN shared a clip of James discussing his latest sacrifice on Instagram, it resonated beyond casual fans. Among those reacting was Clark, the rising star guard for the Fever.
“I’d rather retire than do this. This is why he’s him,” Clark wrote in the comments.
Her reaction quickly went viral, and it soon became clear why.
Chocolate chip cookies carry personal meaning in Clark‘s own basketball journey. During her collegiate career at Iowa, her mother, Anne Nizzi-Clark, brought homemade batches for the team following games.
The ritual became part of Clark‘s routine and a symbol of family support during her ascent to stardom. In that light, the 24-year-old joke about retirement exhibited the emotional layer attached to something as simple as a delicious dessert.
While Clark may draw the line at eliminating cookies entirely, her competitive résumé already demonstrates significant commitment to her craft.
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